Andrew Kippis (28 March 1725 – 8 October 1795) was anEnglish nonconformist clergyman and biographer.
The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born atNottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School inSleaford,Lincolnshire he passed aged 16 to theDissenting academy atNorthampton, of which DrPhilip Doddridge was then president. In 1746 Kippis became minister of a church atBoston; in 1750 he moved toDorking, Surrey; and in 1753 he became pastor of aPresbyterian congregation atWestminster, where he remained till his death.[1]
Kippis took a prominent part in the affairs of his church. From 1763 till 1784 he was classical and philological tutor in theCoward Trust's academy[2] atHoxton, and subsequently in theNew College at Hackney. In 1778 he was elected a fellow of theAntiquarian Society, and a fellow of theRoyal Society in 1779.[1]
Kippis was a voluminous writer. He contributed largely toThe Gentleman's Magazine,The Monthly Review andThe Library; and he established theNew Annual Register. He published sermons and pamphlets; and he prefixed a life toNathaniel Lardner'sWorks (1788). He wrote a life prefixed to Philip Doddridge'sExposition of the New Testament (1792). His major work is his edition of theBiographia Britannica; he only lived to publish five volumes (folio, 1778–1793).[1] In this work he had the assistance ofJoseph Towers,[3] minister ofNewington Green Unitarian Church.
One of the works by Kippis isCook's Voyages. This was first published in London in 1788[4] and includes a letter by Kippis toGeorge III of the United Kingdom dated 13 June 1788. The book has accounts of the three voyages –1768–1771,1772–1775, and1776–1779 – as well as an account of the character ofJames Cook, the effects of his voyages, and a commentary on his services.[citation needed]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kippis, Andrew".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 826.
